Visions on material efficiency along the future automotive life cycle

The engineering complexity of future vehicles provides new challenges to the extraction, production, processing and recycling of materials. In relation, the automotive sector as a whole is one of Europe's key pillars of economic and scientific activity, and will be directly impacted by any new vehicle construction and propulsion trends. The S_LIFE Vision is assessing the challenges to maintain an efficient and sustainable use of materials along the life cycle.

The vision document can be summarised into three main parts:

• Automotive skills on efficient manufacturing, repair, and recycling of materials are of a competitive advantage for European industrial activity
• Technological measures need to coincide with non-technological efficiency solutions (organisational, societal, regulatory and economic development
• Improving the access and treatment if secondary resources by more reuse and recycling, is not only an environmental but also an economic concern.